In our world, status means nothing
by x.xOracles.Shadowx.x
Summary: Hanna/Lucas fic! Enjoy! - A rain storm brings Rosewood's beauty queen and her favorite geek together, and Hanna does some soul searching of her own in the wake of her conflicts with Sean.


**AN: Hey guys. Yes, I've delved into the Hanna/Lucas fandom. I loved them in the few stories I've read about them, and they're adorable in the show, but I wanted to test if I could write them. ****There wasn't any particular song that was an inspiration for this one, but I suppose 'Girl all the bad guys want' by Bowling for Soup would qualify. It was intended as an experiment to see if I could write them in character, but after last week's episode, I'm a little afraid to get attached to this pairing in case it goes the way Emily/Toby seems to be heading. The Wikipedia for the novels has given me some hope for them, but I've also heard that the TV show will go a different route than the novels. An E/T direction perhaps? One can always hope.**

**Also, I wanted to thank all those who've given their time to my stories. I was so thrilled when I checked my inbox and saw all of your reviews and favorites! I was reading them and I was so honored that so many people enjoyed my writing in this fandom! So, thank you so much guys, and I hope I don't disappoint! =) It really made my day to read your input on my different stories. =) I promise that when I get a stable net connection, I'll reply to all of them!**

**I think that's it for now, so without further ado, enjoy! Disclaimer: I own nada. I just borrow them from time to time for my own amusement, so please don't sue? **

**PS: Please be sure to read the AN at the bottom. It's long, but there's some info on future stories. =)**

The door to the Marin household opened and Hanna walked quickly inside, laughing as she tugged her soaked jacket off. Lucas ran in after her and shut the door, laughing as rain beat against the door behind them. The two stood in the entryway for a minute, then broke out laughing again as Lucas nearly slipped and fell to the floor.

"Oh my God, where did that come from?", Hanna asked, taking Lucas' soaked coat and hanging it with her's on the coat rack.

"I have no idea. I swear, the weather report said that it would sunny with a chance of showers, not cloudy with a chance of ark building.", Lucas answered as he checked his camera for water damage. Hanna giggled while shaking her head.

"Is your camera okay?", she asked.

"It should live, no worries." A crash of thunder came from outside, and the two looked at each other. "You don't mind if I stay here for a bit, do you? I think if I go out there, I'll end up in the sewers and get eaten by crocodile men."

"No, be my guest. My house is your house.", Hanna assured him with a smile. That was her geek, alright. If Ali could see her now. That thought put an unpleasant taste in her mouth, and she pulled her phone out of her coat pocket to check her texts. For all she knew, Ali could see her. "Come on, my stomach is snarling at me. I need food. You hungry?"

"Starving.", Lucas answered. He didn't miss the sadness and anxiety on Hanna's face as she looked at her cell phone and wondered why. He knew she and Sean hadn't been seeing eye to eye over her friendship with him, so could that have been the cause? He just hoped he hadn't done anything to hurt her.

"I won't have a friend starve in my house, so let's go raid the fridge and I'll see what I can cook up.", Hanna insisted, leading the way into her kitchen. Despite the fact that it sounded majorly creepy, Lucas walked through the hall into the kitchen and all he could feel around him was Hanna. This house seemed like it was a part of her; bright colors, soft lines and warm, accepting, under the glamourous exterior. And as his stomach growled, he refused to acknowledge he had just equated her with what could have been a designer tortilla.

"Don't worry, Han, it's fine. Besides, your mom will be home soon right? I don't want to impose.", Lucas denied. Hanna turned around and pointed a frying pan at him, then gestured to a chair at the kitchen table.

"I'll tell you when you're imposing. Sit.", Hanna told him firmly. Lucas sat, watching as Hanna looked through the fridge. "Besides, my mom has been wanting to meet you since she saw the prints I brought her of the homecoming pictures. She thinks you have a lot of talent with a camera."

"Really?", Lucas asked, blushing.

"Yeah, she thought the prints were amazing. She was actually thinking of suggesting you as a photographer to my dad for his wedding, if you were interested in the work.", Hanna told him.

"I would definitely be interested.", Lucas answered hurriedly. The chance to make money AND spend more time with Hanna? He'd have to be crazy to turn that down, and while he definitely had a lack of common sense where Hanna Marin was concerned, he was by no means crazy.

"Cool, you'll get to meet my dad and I won't have to deal with the step monster and step sister from hell by myself." Hanna nudged the fridge door shut with her hip, her hands full with a tube of cinnamon rolls and a container of what looked like pasta. "My mom said she'd do some shopping after work so we'll have to make due with leftovers. That okay with you?"

"That's fine by me.", Lucas assured her, getting up and taking the pasta container so she had a hand free. "What is this anyway?"

"Thanks. Um, this is what my mom likes to call Marin Fettuccine, otherwise known as fettuccine with meatballs and multi colored pasta.", Hanna laughed, popping open the tube of pastry while Lucas put the container on the table. "And, since I feel a craving for sugar coming on, I figured I'd make cinnamon rolls to surprise my mom."

"Wow, I need to come over for dinner more often.", Lucas whistled. "Do you need my help with anything?"

"You're always welcome, and no, I think I'm good.", Hanna considered. "Oh, wait. While I'm putting the cinnamon rolls in the oven, can you do me a favor and put some fettuccine in two bowls and heat them up in the microwave? I'm pretty sure my stomach is going to commit mutiny if it doesn't get food soon."

"Well, we can't have that.", Lucas laughed, getting dishes from the cupboard Hanna pointed to.

An hour later, the two were sitting at the kitchen table, laughing at Youtube videos and finishing their dinner with sticky cinnamon rolls as the storm continued to rage outside. Hanna laughed as a water skiing cat flew across her computer screen, licking the frosting from her fingers.

"Who does this? Somewhere, this has to qualify as animal abuse.", Hanna asked with another laugh.

"People post crazy things on Youtube.", Lucas agreed. They sat in silence for the next few minutes, and Lucas turned to Hanna. "Han, can I ask you something?"

"You just did, but you can ask something else.", Hanna answered with a grin.

"Are you happy? With Sean, I mean."

Hanna set down her glass of orange juice, thinking. "What'd you mean?"

"Well, just you two always seem like you're not exactly clicking. Maybe it's nothing, but if it has something to do with me, I'm sorry."

"What? No, it has nothing to do with you, Lucas. Sean, he's just... I don't know. Since Homecoming, it's like there's this invisible wall between us.", Hanna sighed. "I've tried everything I can think of to get us back to where we were, but so far, no luck."

"It'll all work out, Han. I mean, Sean would have to be insane not to realize that he's got someone absolutely amazing in his life.", Lucas assured her. Hanna blushed and smiled at the compliment, then stared into her juice.

"It's not just him, it's me too. I mean, there's so much going on with me and the girls, and the whole mess with Ali's memorial and Toby and Emily. I've had the entire world on my mind lately, and I guess I've given him a backseat.", Hanna explained, sadness filling her eyes. Lucas shifted at the words of Ali, but didn't say anything for a moment.

"That's understandably hard, Han, but don't beat yourself up over what you can't control. Have you heard anything about who wrecked Alison's memorial?", Lucas asked.

"No." Hanna shook her head. "But Wilden has been harassing Emily about Toby and her letter to Ali, and he's trying to fight Spencer's mom about taking him off the case. He's even calling my mom at work, trying to get her to admit to something she knows nothing about. It's getting totally insane."

"Has he been harassing you? You can contact the police chief about it if he is, you know."

"No, just showing up at weird times all over school and being creepy.", Hanna sighed. "I just feel so bad for Emily. First Ali gets her all twisted up and vanishes, and then she gets caught between Maya and Toby, one of whom ditches her and the other who drops off the face of the Earth. Now, because of all of that, she becomes a suspect in Ali's murder. And she'd been dealing with all of this on her own, we had no idea."

"Wow... Well, Hanna, if you want I can ask around and see if anyone saw anything that happened at Alison's memorial, see if I can find someway to clear Emily?", Lucas offered. "I know a few people who work in the stores behind the park, so their security cameras might have picked up something."

"Lucas, that'd be great!", Hanna exclaimed. "Em's been such a mess since Toby's bike was found, it would really help her."

"I'll see what I can find.", Lucas promised. The door open and rain splattered onto the entryway floor as Ashley Marin ran into the house.

"Hi, Mom. Storm's still bad?", Hanna asked as Ashley pulled her coat off and hung it up, taking note of Lucas' coat next to Hanna's.

"Hi, honey. Yeah, and I think it's gotten worse since I left the office. I'm pretty sure I saw a fence float down Main Street. How long have you been home?", Ashley asked, walking into the kitchen. "Oh, something smells amazing."

"An hour or so. There's cinnamon rolls here, and some fettuccine in the microwave for you.", Hanna told her. "Oh, mom, this is Lucas. Lucas, this is my mom."

"Oh, yes. Your friend on the yearbook.", Ashley remembered, shaking hands with Lucas. "It's a pleasure to finally meet you, Lucas. I'm Ashley Marin. Hanna showed me the pictures you took of her and Sean, and they were wonderful. You've got a real talent."

"Thank you, Mrs. Marin.", Lucas answered, blushing. "It's easy to take good pictures when you've got a model like Hanna."

Ashley's eyebrow shot up but she didn't say anything. She walked to the microwave and reheated the bowl of pasta, then turned to see Hanna and Lucas laughing at a video on the internet. She couldn't help but smile; it'd been too long since she'd seen Hanna laugh like that.

"So, what are you guys up to this evening?", Ashley asked, eating her pasta.

"Nothing really. The storm came out of no where when Lucas was giving me photography lessons at school, so we decided to wait it out here before I drove him home.", Hanna answered.

"Which reminds me, I should give my mom a call and let her know where I am.", Lucas remembered. "Mrs. Marin, may I use your phone?"

"Of course, it's in the hallway.", Ashley told him. Lucas nodded then walked to the hallway phone. Ashley turned to Hanna and an eyebrow went up, making Hanna blush but avoid eye contact with her mother until Lucas returned.

"Everything okay?", Hanna asked.

"No, actually. Uh, my mom said the power is out and my sister has been acting up so they want me to come home and keep an eye on her while they deal with the power outage.", Lucas answered. "I'm sorry to eat and run, Han, but they need my help."

"No worries, I'll take a rain check, no pun intended.", Hanna agreed. "Come on, grab your coat and I'll drive you home."

"Drive carefully, Hanna. And if anything happens, call me.", Ashley told her. "Lucas, it was lovely to meet you. Hopefully, we'll be seeing more of you."

"Thanks, Mrs. Marin, it was great meeting you too. As long as Hanna doesn't get sick of me, I don't think I'll be going anywhere.", Lucas agreed. "And Hanna mentioned the photography job, I'd be honored if you would reference me for an occasion like that."

"Oh good. I'll talk to Hanna's dad about it and show him the pictures to see what he thinks and pass along the news through Hanna.", Ashley promised.

"See you in a bit, mom. Save me a cinnamon roll.", Hanna added, kissing her mom on the cheek as she passed by.

The drive to Lucas' house was a fun one, with the radio playing and Lucas keeping Hanna laughing as she drove carefully through the rain. The two arrived at Lucas' house and saw that the lights were indeed out.

"Well, I guess I'll see you tomorrow at school.", Hanna said to him as rain slid down the windshield.

"For sure. Yearbook office at lunch?", Lucas asked.

"I'll be there. Thanks for the lessons today, by the way."

"Anytime, Han. Sorry it got rained out."

"Oh well, these things happen right?", Hanna asked smiling. She felt her phone vibrate in her pocket and checked, seeing a text message from the ever familiar 'Unknown'.

'_Crushes never last, Hanna, especially between bitches and geeks. Better tell Hermy to watch his back, Sean's going to be pissed about your little dinner date. - A_.' Hanna felt the color drain from her face as she re read the text message. It didn't take a genius to realize that A was threatening Lucas.

"Hanna? Are you okay?", Lucas asked, seeing her expression fall. She showed him the text message and he read it aloud. "Who is A, Hanna?"

"I don't know. They've been sending threatening texts to me and the girls for the last couple months, telling us that they know all of our secrets.", Hanna sighed, leaning her head against her steering wheel. The pressure lay heavy on her chest, and she didn't even realize she was still talking. "They already blew Aria's parents' marriage apart when they told her mom about her dad's affair, and broke into Spencer's house to put a message on her mirror, and a bunch of other stuff. It's like she's still alive and everywhere and punishing us for things we haven't done!" Hanna hit her steering wheel with both hands as tears filled her eyes.

"She?", Lucas asked.

"Ali. She was the only one who knew those secrets, or at least we thought she was."

"That would be Alison all over. Have they hurt you at all?", Lucas asked.

"No, just put a scare into us. We have no idea what to do, Lucas. It's like she's still playing with us, leading us along like her little puppets or something. This is still Ali's movie, and we're just taking up screen time until the big conclusion."

"Have you told your mom?"

"No, she's got more than enough to worry about. She doesn't need this."

"Well listen, if you can, print off all these texts and save them, then take them to the police.", Lucas encouraged her. Hanna only shook her head.

"I can't. If I do, A will reveal all our secrets. Lucas, I've done some terrible things. I can't just throw my entire life away, the lives of my friends, for a couple mistakes.", Hanna explained.

"Well, you shouldn't have to go through this alone. If anything happens, you know you can tell me, right?", Lucas asked.

"I know. You're a great friend, Lucas." Hanna smiled through the headache that the thought of A threatening Lucas had given her.

"I try. Uh, listen, I should get inside and let you get home before the weather gets even worse. Thanks for the ride.", Lucas said to her as his mom stepped out on the front porch.

"Right, have fun. See you tomorrow.", Hanna agreed. Lucas opened the door, and had one foot out then stopped and turned to Hanna. "What's up? Did you forget something?"

"Actually, yes.", Lucas answered, then leaned over and kissed Hanna on the cheek. "That was for dinner, and for being such an amazing friend."

Hanna smiled, blushing. "Any time. And thank you for listening."

"No problem. Night." Lucas nodded, then stepped out of the car and shut the door, then ran through the rain onto his front porch. Hanna waved as he walked inside, then sat in her car for a minute. She touched the side of her face where Lucas had kissed her and smiled. That was her geek alright, and A wasn't going to hurt him.

By the time Hanna pulled into her driveway, the rain had, if possible, begun to fall harder, pounding against the streets of Rosewood. She ran as fast as she could through the rain to her door, thankful she'd decided to put on running shoes before taking Lucas home. As she threw the door open and got out of the rain, her mom met her with a towel.

"It's getting bad out there. I was starting to worry about you.", Ashley told her, hanging Hanna's coat to dry. "How was the drive?"

"Good, uneventful.", Hanna answered, following her mom into the kitchen where a cinnamon roll waited for her.

"Lucas seems like a nice kid.", Ashley commented.

"He is, really nice.", Hanna answered, taking a seat at the kitchen table.

"He's cute, I like him.", Ashley told her. "What does Sean think of all this?"

"What does Sean think of what?"

"Hanna, honey, don't tell me you haven't noticed Lucas likes you."

"He does not. We're just friends. Good friends maybe, but nothing like that.", Hanna denied. She could already hear Aria's voice saying, 'Methinks thou dost protest too much' but ignored it.

"Are you saying that honestly, or because you maybe like him as well?", Ashley asked, leaning against the kitchen table and looking at Hanna.

"Mom-"

"Han, I'm not asking for an explanation. Just know that I really like Lucas and if he's a friend, I'm happy for you. And if he's more, then I'm still happy for you. I almost forgot what you look like when you laugh.", Ashley told her, kissing her forehead as she walked by. "Either way, he's a good guy to have in your life. Don't lose him."

Hanna held the cinnamon roll in one hand, thinking over her mom's words. She'd always hoped that things with Sean would last; she'd been in the grade school equivalent of love with him for years, and the idea of them not lasting had always terrified her. But maybe, she considered, if she and Sean ran their course and she wound up with Lucas, it would be a new chapter in her life.

And anyway, feelings or not, she and Lucas were friends who always had fun together, and wasn't that the most important thing right now? Getting up and getting another glass of juice from the fridge, a wave of honesty hit her and she could admit that she'd pick Youtube and pizza dates over being a trophy girlfriend any day. Between she and Lucas, status symbols weren't needed, and that was a way of life she could really get used to.

**(Long) AN: Couple of factual errors in this one. One: I'm reasonably sure Hanna doesn't have a license, or that it's atleast suspended after the car incident, but for the purpose of this story, I just took the idea and ran with it. Two: I'm not actually sure what fetuccine is, and have no earthly idea if it can in fact be microwaved. And three: For the 'Methinks thou dost protest too much', I'm unsure if it's dost or doth, so forgive the possible inaccuracy. Oh, and four: Does anyone know Lucas' last name? I can't find it ANYWHERE.**

**Lord, I'm going to need to see my dentist. My teeth have got to be suffering from writing all this fluff. I need to write something angsty... Speaking of future works, I need some feedback from you, the lovely readers. As you know from my previous stories, if you've read them, I have a habit of listening to music as I write. I was listening to random songs while I was writing this, and you wouldn't believe how many songs gave me ideas for stories. I need some kind of order to them or I know I'll lose the ideas, so I'd like your opinion on which song I should use as inspiration for a new PLL piece. The choices are:**

**Falling on - Finger Eleven  
Popular - The Veronicas  
Everything Changes - Staind  
Forget It - Breaking Benjamin  
Swing Life Away - Rise Against  
Mouth Shut - The Veronicas  
Monster - Lady Gaga  
I can't believe my heart - Susan Eagen (Egan? From the Disney version of Hercules. Apparently it was supposed to be Meg's main song, but it was replaced by 'I won't say I'm in love'. See? Youtube is educational.)  
I won't say I'm in love - Susan Eagen (Egan?)  
This Love - The Veronicas  
Best I Ever Had - State of Shock  
Over and Over - Three Days Grace  
Let me go - 3 Doors Down  
Crashed - Daughtry  
Take me on the floor - The Veronicas  
Poison - Alice Cooper  
****  
If you'd include which pairing/character(s) you want to go with the fic, I'd greatly appreciate it. =) Any suggestions are of course welcome, and I guess whichever one gets the most votes will be the first I write. **

**Oh! And good news! I was struck with this awesome idea for a slightly AU story for PLL, approximately 15 years after 'Homecoming Hangover'. It'll have E/T (They're my favorite PLL pairing, I love them. Toby, come back...), A/E, S/A, A/B (Ashley/Byron. Oh yes, I went there.) and H/L, as well as appearances by Jenna, Mike, Sean, Melissa, Wren (I know, I'm excited too.), Noal, Maya, Wilden and Ben. I'm going with the trend a little bit because Aria will have a daughter, whom I've named Ellison, but the father WILL NOT be Ezra. I want to get the majority of it written before I post anything because I know if I post only the first chapter, I'll procrastinate. xD I'm working on the intro right now, and I'm very excited to get it posted ASAP. **

**By the way, I meant to ask. Was anyone else picking up a major vibe between Ella and Ezra during last week's episode? And if so, does anyone besides me think that it will end horribly for all parties involved?**

**Okay, I'm pretty sure that's it. Hope you enjoyed it, guys. Have a good one!  
Much love, Oracle. (L) (L)**


End file.
